Gone To Film, Be Right Back

Maybe I should say "Film at 11."
How many of this "younger generation" have no idea what that saying means? Probably lots. Back in the day, TV stations shot 16mm film for all their news and sports coverage, and the breaking news footage could be brought back to the studio and processed, "on deadline," hopefully finished just in time to play during the 11 p.m. newscast.
Ahhh, the glory days of film photography! Those were the days. Though I never worked for a TV news outfit, I did my share of film photojournalism over the years in the 1970's and '80's, rushing back to the newspaper office, hell-bent to get those precious rolls of 36 exposure Tri-X into the "Soup," quick washed and slapped into the enlarger "wet" to get a print off to the news desk and the back shop for half-toning in time to make deadline before the paper went to "bed" and hit the presses for the morning edition. Come to think of it, no wonder I have gray hair today! But talk about an adrenalin rush!
(Above Image - Yashica Electra 35 Rangefinder)
Nowadays with digital cameras, laptops with wireless image sending capabilities, the days of beating a deadline have sure changed. Those minutes waiting as the film was being processed, wondering if my pictures turned out, if the exposures were correct - then pulling the full, uncut length of developed film to ones eye with the loupe pushed into the eye socket to see if "the shot" is sharp...those days have certainly slipped away. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE my digital cameras. (Above Image - Yashica Electra 35 Rangefinder)
That's why the lure of film, for those of us that "grew-up" with film photography, is becoming so strong again. I'm not the only one who has experienced this yearning. From reading on-line photography site discussions, blogs and forums, many of us shooters, young and old alike, are making a pilgrimage back to film. And, with a large shoebox filled with rolls of black and white and color film sitting in a drawer, the call for me was too loud to ignore.
I recently purchased a used 35mm rangefinder camera off eBay to help me "get back to my roots" with photography. Not that I got rid of all my film cameras, mind you. I still have my old trusty Nikon F, Nikon N90s, an underwater Nikon and a vintage twins-lens (two and a quarter) reflex that shoots 120 film in the camera vault. It was the thought of a rangefinder camera around my neck doing "street photography" that made me want to get back to basics and "channel" one of the great masters of photojournalism like Cappa and Eisenstaedt!
I placed a roll of 24 exposure Fujifilm in the "new" old camera, wound it into the take-up spool and closed the back, watching the rewind knob rotate with each advance of the shutter. Without really knowing if the camera was "operational" I shot a mish-mash of images, trying to recall how to "read" the light and set the aperture ring to get a "ballpark" exposure on the emulsion. The biggest surprise came when I took the film in for processing at the local drugstore One-Hour photo lab. "Just do a process only" so I can check the negs and see if the camera's working and if there are any light leaks from the 40+ year-old camera I asked.
"We don't do any orders without prints," was the response! What? Why back in the day I could walk into any lab and say "process only, don't cut" and get the roll souped and negs hanging on the rack waiting for my inspection without question from the lab techs. I guess those days are a thing of the past...like my camera that shoots film. The minimum the drug store mini-lab would do is process the roll and burn a CD and index print...for $9! "Well, alright...I guess," I mumbled to the lady behind the counter who obviously was not even born yet when the camera I used to make the images on that roll was in its glory days!
She didn't know about checking the negs for light leaks or proper exposures to see if the film was even worth transferring to digital CD. And this was with a common roll of C-41 process color neg film. My worries now are in finding a lab that would even know what a roll of Plus-X is, let alone be able to process it without shipping it off to some back alley photo lab in the Bronx then maybe two weeks from now getting it back!
I guess my next purchases will be a set of metal reels, a couple tanks and some D-76, stop bath, fixer and photo-flow so I can develop my own film! Lord...does anyone still stock that stuff???? Needless to say, I did get images, my exposures were good, there were a few minor light leaks on the film that will be fixed with the replacement of the disintegrated light blocking foam around the camera's film door...so life is good and what it comes down to is this. I actually shot a roll of film!!!! How cool is that!

"Family Photographer"

Being the photographer in the family, I get the call to provide photos of everything from a quick snapshot of the backyard vegetable garden to environmental portraits for an up-coming newspaper story. Such was the case last week for my wife Kim, who will soon have her "Local Girl Comes Back Home Story" published in a special newspaper section of the local paper. They wanted photos of her at work at the local radio station.

I feel honored to have been able to be the photographer to make some images of her, rather than the paper's shooter. I knew my efforts would result in more comfortable, natural poses for Kim. I know it can be hard to look "relaxed" in front of a total stranger with a camera blasting away. Plus she had post shoot editing privileges, which further put her at ease. Off to the radio station we went.

So, I set up a two-light rig, with the main shooting through an umbrella and the second light kicking in some fill and hair highlights with a blue filter over the flash head.

The top image is her favorite and then my favorite shot below for fun which is also her personality on air!

Golden Days of Radio

Splitting my professional work these days between photography and broadcasting (with a few hours doing seasonal restaurant cooking) gives me plenty of variety in my week. To combine two of those occupations is fun, too. That's what I have started to do with a new photo project. At the radio stations where I work, the station owner's family, over the years, has assembled quite a collection of vintage radios and broadcasting equipment. I thought I would begin to document these pieces of radio history a little at a time. I wanted my images of the antique radios, etc. to have the look of still being in someones home, since back in the day, the radio was the source of family information and entertainment. I wanted to also show off the warmth and craftsmanship of the wooden radios. I used a single SB flash with a snoot to highlight the radios as if late afternoon or early morning sun was filtering through the windows of the home onto the sets. I did not use any colored gels on the flash. The color that shows is from the wonderfully rich hues of the wooden sets.

Most of the radios at the station are displayed on shelves in the conference room and I didn't want to move them without permission. I have more to do and have a few more lighting ideas up my sleeve for this self-assignment. I think, so far, the results are working well and if you listen carefully, you might be able to hear one of those classic old-time radio shows crackling through the speakers!

On Location "Kick of Light"

I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot some portraits this past week...a High School Senior session and a corporate session for our local Mayo Health Systems medical center. The hospital job kinda surprised me, since I had just sent off an introduction e-mail and link to my website when I got a call to shoot some portraits for a Hosptial Foundation publication.

To be honest these two sessions were the first time in a while that I hauled lighting gear, stands and the like out on location.

But compared to images I might have brought back several years, ('Available light is KING' kind of thinking) these new images have a lot more interest and quality of light to them. As I continue to work in and outdoors with my strobes, I hope to begin developing a "Style" to my images. Back in my newspaper photog days, I always felt that my work was different from other shooters, since I loved bringing back the "in-your-face" action and emotion photos.

It has become very clear to me that with the addition of a 'kick of light' my images are maturing, so to speak and I can begin to tell a story with the light, or just add that little "something" that makes the photo a touch better.

My newest "best friend" is the recently purchased Manfretto "Justin Super Clamp" for my Speedlights. I used the clamp on the hosptial shoot to put a second light into the mix without having to drag out another light stand.

One Man Band

Unless a photographer has a house full of staff, relatives, kids or significant other's running around the photo studio, ( or in my case the garage and basement) one has to be resourseful to find suitable "models" to set-in while the photographer tries out some new lighting techniques, practices lighting set-ups or other creative trail-and-error experiments.

For "One Man Band" gunners lke me, I am normally the only person hangin' around during the day when I have time set aside for practice and experimentation. So, thanks to the tripod and a "just long enough" shutter release cable, I end up being the subject for my set-ups. I't not that I want to have a huge portfolio of self portraits, it's just that our dog Gracie's a little bit tired of having the flash popped in her face all the time. I'm a ways away from being a small flash wizard like "Mr. Strobist" David Hobby - http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ or Joe McNally - www.joemcnally.com/blog. My setups and exposures make me feel more confident so when I have an actual client in front of my lens, I will "appear" to know just what the heck I'm doing!

So to get ready for this weekend's senior portrait session and some future work with our local medical center, I've been playing around. Here's a "practice shot" using up to two Nikon SB Speedlights and various light modifiers. I'm just starting to put some effort into developing a "style" for my images. I know my way of "seeing" and my "street shooter" approach to photojournalism is totally different than any of the other photographers in the area. So, I'm counting on that, with a little help from my Speedlights, to set me apart for the pack.

Springtime Awakening!

Well Hello....is there anybody out there?

Springtime has begun and it's time to get serious about shooting again and posting to my photo blog. I've been dusting off the camera gear and working on tuning-up my multi-flash location lighting chops. It was another long and snowy winter in this corner of the Midwest and now at the last few days of March 2011, the snow is nearly gone from our yard and around town. The glimer of hope of green grass and blooming flowers helps make everyone's mood a bit lighter and happier, including yours truly! My wife and I have been in the Midwest now a full year. And we are now talking of establishing roots in her old hometown.

With that said, I have a renewed energy to develop new freelance photography relationships with agricultural, farming and regional publications. I've also begun a plan to establish a photography foothold into the community I live, offering my work for senior/athlete portraits, sports action and events. I already have one senior photo session on the books. I have a few personal photo projects on the list as well to keep the picture taking pulse pumping...that and a fresh pot of coffee!

One of the Springtime events farmers can count-on in the low lying river valley areas of the Midwest is flooding. In the local county, there a number of corn fields that are submerged with runoff from melting snow. But the up-side is very few farmers in this area have to use field irrigation during the growing season.

Flooded Corn Fields, west of Fairmont, MN.

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